Jätte rudbeckia
5 Rudbeckia Varieties Grown In Our Garden, and Why You Will Love Them!
How to plant rudbeckia. Annual and biennial rudbeckias can be grown from seed.
Sow seed in early spring and keep seedlings under cover until large enough to handle and pot on, then harden off after danger of frost has passed. Plant out in May. Perennial rudbeckias can be planted at any time of year. Order Your Almanac Today! Also receive the Almanac Daily newsletter including gardening tips, weather, astronomical events, and more. Beloved by pollinators, black-eyed Susans Rudbeckia hirta generally bloom from June to August, often blanketing open fields with their golden-yellow beauty.
Learn how to care for this native wildflower, when to cut it back, and how to save seeds for replanting. A member of the aster family, Asteraceae , and native to eastern North America, it has become naturalized in Zones 3 to 9. And while some species of black-eyed Susans have additional names—such as Gloriosa daisies—they all belong to the Rudbeckia genus. Black-eyed Susans grow 1 to 3 feet tall or more with leaves of 6 inches, stalks over 8 inches long, and flowers with a diameter of 2 to 3 inches.
Butterflies, bees , and other insects are attracted to the flowers for the nectar. As they drink the nectar, they move pollen from one plant to another, causing it to grow seeds that can move about easily with the wind. Learn more about our favorite wildflowers. In the garden, they do well in landscapes, borders, butterfly gardens, or containers. Also, they are outstanding cut flowers. Black-eyed susans are Sun worshipers who forgive neglect and are tough as nails.
However, avoid overcrowding these plants or watering their leaves vs.
9 Great Rudbeckia Varieties
Note that varieties can be annual, biennial, or perennial. The popular Rudbeckia hirta is treated as a short-lived perennial. See more about the recommended varieties below. The black-eyed Susan thrives in full sunshine. It tolerates partial sun, but it will not bloom as reliably. However, black-eyed Susans are a big reseeder. To avoid this, cut the spent flowers back just below the mound of foliage. As well as the traditional black-eyed Susans, which grow 1 to 3 feet tall or more , there are dwarf varieties that reach no more than 1 foot perfect for containers.
Varieties can be annual, biennial, or perennial. The popular roadside Rudbeckia hirta with showy yellow flowers is a biennial in the wild but treated as a short-lived perennial in the garden. It self-seeds abundantly, naturalizing easily. Some of its many hybrids include:. There are also true, long-lasting perennials that will keep coming back and blooming year after year. Finally, some Rudbeckia varieties are annuals, such as the Clasping Sunflower Rudbeckia amplexicaulis , a low-growing plant for the front of a border garden.
Cut flowers for display just before buds completely open. Use large blooms as centerpieces and smaller ones as accents. Change the water every day to keep them fresh. Vase life is 8 to 10 days. Pop off the seed heads from the stems and toss them in a small jar; close the lid and shake it to loosen the seedheads. Then, dump the seed heads from the jar into a sieve with a white piece of paper below it. Break up the seed heads in the sieve with your fingers.
The seeds will come off and fall through the sieve onto the paper! Fold the paper in half and carefully funnel those seeds into a paper envelope. Close and label the envelope and store it in a cool, dry place. Learn more about how to save seeds for next year. Black-eyed Susans are deer-resistant plants. Diseases: powdery mildew , aster yellows, Botrytis blight, southern blight, angular leaf spot, fungal leaf spot, downy mildew, rust , white smut, Verticillium wilt.
Pests: aphids , nematodes, slugs, and snails. This issue is often related to watering.